You're Safe Now
by headto
Summary: Swan Queen inspired by Inuyasha. Regina is running away from her nightmare and Emma promised to keep her safe. One-shot. I do not own Emma, Regina, and Inuyasha. They just inspired me to write a story about them.


**Author's note** : Previously posted in Tumblr. Edited but the story remains the same. Enjoy!

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Regina was tired. It felt like she had been running for hours, even days, when in reality, it had only been less than half of an hour. But the mind is a strong force to be reckoned with despite her aching calf muscles and chest that felt about to burst was clamoring for rest. The fear of being caught and the desperation to be finally free made her continue to put one foot in front of the other.

And the voice that kept on taunting her. The voice that makes her cringe and tremble in fear when it's disappointed. Her mother's voice. _Run, Regina. Run, my child. RUN!_

The trees in the forest seemed to whisper to her, echoing the taunt of the person she was running away from. She ran as if her life depended on it. Tears she did not feel pouring down her face betrayed her and clouded her vision that she failed to see a thick root in her way. She tripped and fell sideways. She gasped as her body slammed against a tree trunk. The sudden stop made all the emotions she tried to keep at bay pop into her awareness and she hugged the tree wishing it would give her comfort.

"Can you help me?"

Regina froze. It was an unfamiliar voice but it sounded so near like it's coming from the-

She looked up and her eyes widened to see green eyes looking down at her. She fell on her backside and scampered to put distance between her and the...creature in the tree. _Embedded_ in the tree.

"Who - what-" Regina sputtered. The creature… _no_ , it was a _woman_ , shook her long blonde hair as if to bat away annoying insect or dirt from her face - she wasn't sure - before speaking again.

"I'm Emma. Can you help me? You just have to remove this arrow over here."

Regina followed Emma's gaze and found an arrow piercing her heart.

Thundering hooves woke Regina from her staring. A twitch of a finger from an arm also pierced thru by an arrow - and that's when Regina noticed that the woman, Emma, was held in the tree by arrows in both her arms, feet and the heart -made her look again at the other woman's face.

"Can you help me?" Emma asked again.

"Why should I help you?" Regina asked. She can hear her mother and her soldiers coming nearer. She did not have time to help strangers even if she can't help but stare back into those eyes.

A part of her was saying that the woman was obviously dangerous. Why else would anyone imprison her in a tree? But there was also a part of her that could see the sadness and gentleness in the depths of the prisoner's eyes with the way she was looking at her.

Emma closed her eyes and her face showed that she was deep in concentration. When she opened her eyes again, it reflected a bit of anger and urgency. "I promise to help you if you will take this arrow from my heart. I will take care of the rest."

The noises were coming nearer and Regina felt her throat close up. A part of her told her to help the woman but fear made her run. "I'm sorry. I- I have to go!"

Regina scrambled to her feet, looked back to where she can hear her mother, before moving past the tree where Emma was.

"Please, Regina."

Regina stopped and looked up at the woman staring down at her. "How -"

"There you are daughter." Regina's body froze, her body's natural reflex and something more. She felt tendrils wrapping around her feet and when she looked down, she saw vines crawling up from the ground and up her body. She tried to destroy the vines with her hands but they only tightened around her.

"No, mother! I'm sorry. Please!"

A growl broke thru her anguish and she glanced to the woman beside her. Emma was looking at her mother with anger, the gentleness in her eyes she saw earlier gone. "Cora." She spat.

Cora sneered at the prisoner. "I thought you were dead, Princess. Robin lied to me after all. I'm glad I took care of him anyway."

Emma tugged on her arms and feet, forgetting the arrows. Her only desire at the moment was to strangle the other woman with her bare hands until the last breath escaped her. "You will pay for what you did to me and my family."

Regina watched as blood seeped out from the piercings but the prisoner...her mother said 'princess', did not seem to notice. She looked at her mother and saw her hands glowing, a sign that she was calling forth her magic. She looked back at Emma who was still staring at her mother, hands fisted so hard that her veins throbbed and trickles of blood flowed from her hands and feet. Regina knew that she only had seconds to decide. It did not matter now whether Emma was dangerous or not. If her mother brought her back to the castle, she might as well be dead anyway.

Regina turned to her mother and with a defeated voice begged. "I'm sorry mother. I'm sorry I ran away. I'll go back now. I'll be good, I promise."

Cora looked at her daughter and smiled. It was the smile Regina had come to know as that her mother will make sure that she will be sorry for being bad indeed. Regina shivered with dread imagining what her mother's punishment will be this time.

The vines at her feet loosened and she was finally able to move. She stepped slightly to her left bringing her closer to Emma.

Cora extended a hand towards Regina. "Come now, my daughter."

"Yes, mother." Regina replied. Then in a whisper that she hoped that only Emma heard, she said, "Help me, please." Then she outstretched her hand and grasped at the arrow in Emma's heart and pulled with her might. It wouldn't budge.

Cora shouted and her magic flared. Vines shot up from the ground and wrapped around Regina once again. It was a mistake. The pull of the vines gave Regina the extra help to pull the arrow completely from the prisoner.

A loud growl erupted from Emma and she was suddenly coated in golden white light that was so bright everyone in the forest closed their eyes and turned their head away for fear of going blind.

Before the light faded, Regina felt someone embrace her from behind. She lost the instinct to pull away from whoever it was when a gentle voice whispered in her ear, "I keep my promises."

Regina grasped the arm on her chest and pulled it tighter around her. In that instant, everything began to fade away. She saw her mother's mouth moving but she can't hear any sound. The forest vanished and she felt herself floating away. She gasped when her feet suddenly touched solid ground and her knees buckled from surprise. She outstretched her arm to hopefully stop her face from slamming to the ground but the arms around her tightened and she fell on her back instead. The impact was softer than expected but it still knocked out her breath.

Once she regained composure, Regina noticed that she was in a room. There was a bed on the center a few feet away from where she… they were lying. There was no sound except for the ragged breathing from the person beneath her.

Regina realized that she was lying on top of her savior and that she was still grasping the arm to her chest. She tried to speak but it came out as a croak. She cleared her throat and asked softly, "Emma?"

Bleeding muscled arms and calloused hands followed the contour of Regina's arm until it reached her hand where they intertwined with her soft ones. Her breath hitched as their joined hands moved and rested on her stomach as if in an embrace.

The same gentle voice that reminded her of keeping promises answered, "You are safe now, Regina."

Then everything went silent.

 **The End.**


End file.
